08/12/2022 09:35 (act 08/12/2022 09:40)
A cargo ship passes a sandbar near Bendorf am Rhein. ©APA/dpa
The level at Kaub in Rhineland-Palatinate, important for shipping on the Rhine, fell further on Friday. According to the Waterways and Navigation Administration, it was 42 centimeters in the morning and therefore about 5 centimeters lower than the same time the day before. According to the German authorities’ forecast, the 40 centimeter mark could fall on Friday.
According to the president of the Directorate-General for Waterways and Navigation, ships will be able to travel continuously on the Rhine this year, despite the persistent drought. He does not expect ship traffic on the river to stop, Hans-Heinrich Witte told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung. “It’s theoretically possible, but I don’t think it’s likely.”
However, when the water level is low, ships can carry considerably less cargo. “This means that cargo space on ships is scarce,” said the head of the authority. This also makes it difficult to transport coal and oil on the Rhine. “So much has to be done by road and rail.”
The fairway depth, which is critical for transport, was just 1.59 meters on Thursday – less than in any other section of the Middle and Lower Rhine. That’s why Kaub, in the Rhein-Lahn district, is considered an important point for inland navigation on the Rhine.
Cargo and passenger ships, in particular, have struggled with low tide for weeks. Inland waterway captains must take the ship’s draft into account when loading their cargo. When water levels are low, they can carry less cargo – and at some point the transport becomes uneconomical.
The Federal Institute of Hydrology (BfG) recently stated that shallow inland waterway vessels can still pass the Middle Rhine route up to a water level of about 30 to 35 centimeters in the Kaub gauge. However, forecasts assume water levels in the direction of 30 centimeters by early next week at the Kaub level. Then transport on the Rhine in this area “tends to stop,” he said.